Money market
Ecobank Nigeria has stable outlook, quality management – Fitch rating
By Kayode Tokede
Fitch Ratings has assigned Ecobank Nigeria Limited (ENG) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B-’ with a Stable Outlook, Viability Rating (VR) of ‘b-’ and National Long-Term Rating of ‘BBB (nga)’. The report, released Thursday, noted that Ecobank Nigeria IDRs are driven by its standalone creditworthiness, as expressed by its Viability Rating (VR).
The VR reflects the constraint of Nigeria’s challenging operating environment and modest core capital buffers amongst others. This is balanced by company profile strengths as well as a solid funding profile and good foreign-currency liquidity, which is enhanced by prudent liquidity management by the Ecobank group.
According to Fitch, “the Stable Outlook on ENG’s Long-Term IDR reflects our view that the bank has sufficient headroom at its current rating to absorb moderate shocks from sustained downside risks to the operating environment, the heightened level of risk in doing banking business in Nigeria and the ensuing risks to its financial performance (particularly asset quality) over the next 12-18 months.
The Stable Outlook also reflects our expectations that capitalisation will remain resilient over this period with the bank maintaining adequate buffers over the minimum regulatory requirements.”
Fitch Rating reported that the VR benefits from ENG’s company profile strengths of being part of the leading pan-African Ecobank group. ENG is a 100per cent owned subsidiary of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI; B-/Stable).
ETI is a regional bank holding company with fully-fledged banking subsidiaries in 33 African countries (collectively the group).
The group also has a banking license in France and representative offices in Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Beijing, London, and Dubai. The group’s operations are highly integrated, with all entities connected to a common operating platform and risk management framework, and common branding.
ENG is a material subsidiary for ETI, and its largest single entity, contributing to 23per cent of group assets at end-9M20.
ETI continues to implement a turnaround strategy at Ecobank Nigeria, having deleveraged and de-risked the bank in recent years, although it returned to growth in 2020 and plans above-sector-average loan growth in the medium term.
Fitch noted that ENG’s management quality is a relative strength, with ETI appointing experienced bankers to Ecobank Nigeria’s senior team.
“ENG has a solid funding profile, with low-cost current and savings accounts reaching 58per cent of total deposits at end-9M20 helping the bank to reduce its cost of funding. It has achieved good deposit growth through the expansion of digital channels and its financial inclusion initiatives.
Retail and SME deposits to account for 58% of total customer deposits at end-9M20, which results in reasonable deposit concentration, with the top 20 customer deposits representing 29per cent of the total,” the report stated.
Fitch Ratings also views ENG’s liquidity management as prudent with contingency plans in place. Local-currency liquidity is underpinned by a high share of liquid assets (cash, interbank placements and sovereign securities) representing more than 50per cent of total assets at end-9M20. ENG’s foreign-currency funding benefits from sizeable interbank deposits, which represented about 15per cent of total funding at end-9M20.
More than half of these deposits (about $400 million) came from ETI’s affiliates at end-9M20. This reflects the group’s well-established inter-affiliate short-term deposit placement programme (IAP), amounting to $650 million at end-1H20, which provides ENG with a significant competitive advantage compared with most other Nigerian banks, as ENG is able to rely on IAP funding when foreign-currency liquidity conditions temporarily tighten in Nigeria.
The naira earned its first gain in more than 10 days against the United States dollar on Friday.
Data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) showed that the Nigerian currency gained N5 to trade at N1,505/$1 at the official market today.
The currency traded at N1,510/$1 on Thursday.
The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,540/$1 and N1,430/$1 respectively, representing a lean spread of N110\$1.
However, the naira gained against the dollar at the parallel section of the market to trade at N1,525/$1, as against N1,520/$1 it traded the previous day.
The naira also shed N20 against the British Pound to trade at N1,920\£1 as against the previous trading day’s N1,900\£1.
The Canadian dollar continues to close flat against the naira to trade at N1,200| CA$1.
The naira lost N10 against the Euro to trade at N1,600/€1 as against the previous N1,590/€1
By Opeyemi Abdulsalam
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has supported the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision to end the Price Verification System (PVS) for foreign exchange transactions.
The NESG said it believes this move will eliminate unnecessary regulatory hurdles and promote macroeconomic stability.
In a communique released over the weekend, the NESG expressed its backing for the CBN’s decision.
Nigerian NewsDirect reported that the CBN, in a recent circular, stated that with effect from July 1, applications for Form ‘M’ would no longer be needed by importers for validation via the Price Verification Report from the PVS.
In a circular released last weekend, the apex bank said the decision followed recent developments in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
The circular issued by the Acting Director of the Trade & Exchange Department, W.J. Kanya, also referenced a previous circular dated August 17, 2023, titled “Go-Live of the Central Bank of Nigeria Price Verification System Portal.”
The Price Verification System Portal is an online platform introduced by the CBN to ensure that the prices of goods and services for foreign exchange transactions are accurately verified.
It was aimed at preventing over-invoicing and under-invoicing, thus ensuring fair pricing in Nigeria’s import and export activities.
With the new directive, the apex bank said all applications for Form ‘M,’ will now be validated without the need for a Price Verification Report generated from the PVS Portal.
The circular also noted that the Price Verification Report is no longer a requirement for completing a Form ‘M.’
The policy change aims to streamline processes for authorised dealer banks and the general public, potentially easing the procedural burden associated with foreign exchange transactions.
The NESG noted that “with a more efficient importation process, the manufacturing sector will benefit from timely access to essential inputs as it will enable higher levels of production and enhance the sector’s contribution to GDP.”
“The increase in industrial output will have a positive spillover effect on other sectors, further stimulating economic activity.
“In the same vein, the reduction in bureaucratic bottlenecks will make Nigerian businesses more competitive globally. Lower operational costs and improved efficiency will enable businesses to offer more competitive prices, increase market share, and expand their export potential.
“This will contribute to a favourable balance of trade and strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global economy.
“Similarly, the policy change aligns with the CBN’s core mandate of maintaining price stability and promoting sustainable economic growth.
“By reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing supply chain efficiency, the policy is expected to exert downward pressure on production costs, thereby contributing to inflation moderation.
“Moreover, increased economic activity and investment will support higher output growth, reinforcing the stability and resilience of the Nigerian economy,” the NESG added.
Newly sworn-in President, Oluropo Dada, as the 13th President and Chairman of Governing Council of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), says the Federal Government can raise $500 billion from the Capital Market.
The investiture ceremony, at the weekend in Lagos, marked the commencement of Dada’s two-year tenure as the Institute’s President and send-off for Oluwole Adeosun, the immediate past president.
In his acceptance speech, Dada assured that his administration would advance inclusive participation of all stakeholders in the financial market.
“My vision is to build a Nigerian capital market in which securities professionals get the attention and patronage that they deserve. We want a market that is all-inclusive, with all stakeholders working as partners. My team and I will work assiduously towards upgrading capacity building in our community, while at the same time ensuring that there is a symbiotic relationship between securities dealers and all trading platforms in the country.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has articulated the vision of attaining a $1trillion economy during its tenure. To do this, the economy must attain a double-digit growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).It is therefore my conviction that the capital market alone can generate up to at least half of the envisaged $1trillion.
“It is therefore imperative that the size of the informal sector in Nigeria be substantially reduced, if we are to attain the objectives of accelerated GDP growth. Appropriate policies should be crafted to encourage all public limited liability companies in Nigeria to obtain listing and public quotation on any of the SEC-registered securities exchanges in the country.
“Our Institute aligns with the ongoing recapitalisation programme in the banking sector. We have made a 10-point recommendation to the Government and Capital Market Regulators on how the new capital injection in the banking industry can be implemented seamlessly,” explained Dada.
The immediate past president, Mr Oluwole Adeosun, presented some of the major achievements during his tenure and commended Dada for his sterling contributions as the 1st Vice President during the period.
The Special Guest of Honour, and Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, urged the Institute to partner with the Federal Government in order to transform the economy. Shettima, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Tope Fasua.
He explained that the economy would experience significant growth once the country overcomes the ongoing reforms.
Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, commended the Institute and assured it of support for Dada’s Administration through partnership with the Institute for market development. He showered encomiums on Dada as a man of integrity with track records of performance.
After the swearing-in of Dada as the President, in line with the tradition of the Institute, Dada, swore-in Mrs Fiona Ahimie and Dr Akeem Oyewale as the 1st and 2nd Vice President respectively.
Goodwill messages were presented to the new president by the Lagos State Governor, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Exchange Group PLC, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and Founding Partner, Wole Olanipekun & Co, Chief Wole Olanipekun amongst others, while a Keynote Address was delivered by the Chairman, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr Bolaji Balogun.
The ceremony was attended by many captains of industries and seasoned finance experts, including the former Director General of The Nigerian Stock Exchange ( now NGX, Professor Ndi Okereke-Onyuike.
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